Scale of quake destruction in Türkiye massive 'in modern history,' says WHO chief

The scale of the devastation from major earthquakes earlier this month in southern Türkiye is historically “massive,” said the head of the World Health Organization on Tuesday.

Speaking in the Turkish quake region, Tedros Ghebreyesus said: “We have driven today from Gaziantep until Antakya here, and the level of the destruction we have observed … is really, really massive.”

At a joint press conference with Turkish Heath Minister Fahrettin Koca, he added, referring to the toll of dead and injured: “This is massive in modern history.”